Kansas City

Chiefs

Rice, to be clear, is still expected to miss the remainder of the season. But it appears his ACL, meniscus, and MCL were all intact and well. This should make his road to recovery easier and, perhaps at the very most optimistic, open up a playoff window for him to return in. Rice was placed on injured reserve last week and does not need to be rostered in non-keeper leagues.

The Chiefs continue to look for ways to get their speedy youngster involved on offense and it is clear they are starting to open up the playbook for him. Mahomes attempted three deep passes to Worthy, two falling incomplete and one drawing a defensive pass interference penalty in the second half. Worthy scored from three yards out on a direct snap to tight end Travis Kelce, who operated a read option and handed the ball off to the rookie for the touchdown. Worthy could further expand his involvement after the Chiefs come out of their Week 6 bye.

Kelce led the team in targets and narrowly scored a touchdown on an inside shuttle pass from four yards out in the third quarter. He was tackled at the one and Patrick Mahomes was picked off on the following play. Only Kelce and JuJu Smith-Schuster saw more than six targets, making it likely this offense continues to operate over the short-to-intermediate areas of the field in the absence of Isiah Pacheco and Rashee Rice. Kelce and the Chiefs get a breather in Week 6 before traveling to San Francisco to face the 49ers in Week 7.

Smith-Schuster appeared to soak up most of the routes previously run by alpha wide receiver Rashee Rice, paving the way for a potential waiver wire darling as the Chiefs head to their bye week. His eight targets trailed only tight end Travis Kelce’s 10, with only Xavier Worthy’s six looks anywhere near the duo up top. There definitely could be something here considering the state of the Kansas City roster and their recent propensity to work the short areas of the field.

Hunt rejoined the Chiefs after Isiah Pacheco’s injury, getting his first start against the Saints after playing most of the final three quarters in Week 4 following a Carson Steele fumble. He turned back the clock in this one, going for 117 combined yards and scoring in the first quarter. Hunt has now tallied 41 carries the last two weeks and appears to be primed for a sizable workload for as long as Pacheco remains out. The Chiefs head to their bye week in Week 6 before traveling to San Francisco to face the 49ers in Week 7.

Mahomes failed to throw a touchdown for the first time this season as both scores by the Chiefs came on the ground, one from fill-in running back Kareem Hunt and one on a handoff to Xavier Worthy from tight end Travis Kelce on an option play from four yards out. Even so, the 331 yards through the air marked a season-high, buoyed by a breakout performance from JuJu Smith-Schuster and his 130 yards through the air. The Chiefs limp into their bye week a perfect 5-0 but without starting running back Isiah Pacheco and alpha wide receiver Rashee Rice.

The reports from Schefter somewhat contradict reports from Ian Rapoport, the latter of whom reported the Rice met with Dr. Dan Cooper today and it was revealed that he had torn his LCL. Schefter indicated that the star wide receiver would undergo further testing on Tuesday under anesthesia to fully diagnose the damage to the knee. While “not as bad as initially thought” and “confirmed torn LCL” are two very different things, all signs continue to point to a lost season for Rice. That said, if he did tear only the LCL, the recovery window would be two to three months faster than if he also damaged other ligaments. We’ll likely need to hear from the team before any conclusive statements can be made, which could come a early as Tuesday.

While the inactives list rather barren for a game in Week 5, the Chiefs are already without starting running back Isiah Pacheco and alpha wide receiver Rashee Rice through the first month of play, both of whom are expected to miss significant time. Additional emphasis is likely to be placed on veteran tight end Travis Kelce and recent re-signee Kareem Hunt in the meantime.

Rice will undergo a procedure on Monday and hope to get a “final determination of Rice’s status” shortly after. Schefter states, “Nothing will be determined early next week at the earliest.” The Chiefs are clearly trying to explore all options with their star receiver after he suffered a devastating knee injury in Week 4’s win over the Chargers. He will undoubtedly miss an extended period of time, but even an eight week absence would put Rice on track to return some time around late-November/early-December.

The Chiefs are hoping to get clarity on Rice’s long-term outlook following the procedure, which is presumably a knee scope. Patrick Mahomes collided with Rice’s knee in Week 4 and the team believes Rice tore his ACL. However, because of swelling in his knee, the team hasn’t been able to get a definitive answer on the nature of his injury yet. As Schefter notes, Rice’s outlook will play a determining factor in Kansas City’s interest in acquiring a wide receiver on the trade market. Rice is currently on injured reserve, sidelining him for at least four games, though it’s safe to assume he will be out much longer than that.